


On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

by bitheflowers



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Secret Santa, kind of at least?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitheflowers/pseuds/bitheflowers
Summary: When Serena joined in the Secret Santa exchange this year, she didn't expect to pull Bernie's name. Nor did she expect to find the perfect gift due to an eye opening tip from one Fleur Fanshawe.
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 18
Kudos: 109
Collections: Berena Secret Santa 2019





	1. The gift giving

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BigMachoCinephile](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigMachoCinephile/gifts).



> This is my entry for this year's Berena Secret Santa! The prompt was "Secret Santa Before Dating" which I took quite literally to really embrace that Christmas spirit. I hope you all enjoy it, especially @BigMachoCinephile. (Manoncinephile on tumblr)

The whole hospital was decked in the Christmas spirit as the end of December neared. As always, Serena was well and truly into it by now: she had bought herself a new dress for the Christmas party and decorated both her house and the office in all the festive decorations she had gathered over the years. However, something was holding her back from enjoying the time of year fully. Whereas other years she would buy her presents well beforehand, she was now left with only a couple more days to find that perfect gift for this year’s lucky receiver. Serena had prided herself on it for years that she knew exactly what to get everyone, knew the ins and outs of buying a gift that was both surprising and yet totally what someone wanted. This year though, she had encountered a so far unknown difficulty in her Christmas shopping. As was tradition, Keller and AAU had planned a joined Christmas party the weekend before Christmas and, also following tradition, they had all drawn names to join in a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Serena sighed as she remembered seeing the scribbly letters on the tiny piece of paper she had picked. Bernie. The famous Berenice Wolfe, army major, excellent trauma surgeon and very much the newest and most inscrutable staff member of Holby City Hospital. She knew of the woman of course, had learned that she was recently divorced after having an affair with a woman. Serena had seen her around multiple times, had even worked with her once or twice and enjoyed it very much. She had noticed her messy hair, her muscular forearms and of course her endless legs, purely by chance and not at all while staring at the woman in question. She knew all of this but none of these rumours or impression, as true and good as they might be, could help her figure out what on earth to buy the major for Christmas. And thus she was stuck scrolling through endless pages of web-shops offering ‘gifts for her’ that were all truly abysmal and not at all fit for a brilliant trauma medic.

A short knock on the door startles her, followed by the entrance of a walking whirlwind better known as Fleur. She bursts in with a smile on her face and a notorious twinkle in her eyes, making Serena feel highly suspicious though she can’t bring herself to care too much right now.

“What do you want, Fleur?” she asks a little more bluntly than she intended to.

“You’re in a mood, wow, you alright?” the other woman replies, concern taking over her features. Serena just sighs in response, letting out a groan and burying her head in her hands.

“It’s this stupid secret santa thing. I can’t figure out for the life of me what to get and the party is this weekend.”

“Go on then, who are we buying for?” Fleur asks brightly, joy returning to her face as she rubs her hands together in excitement, ready for a challenge. Serena contemplates telling her. Fleur won’t be at the party, doesn’t take part in the whole exchange so really there is no harm in informing her. It could only be beneficial for her, in case she knows of some kind of present to get Bernie.

“Bernie,” Serena mumbles begrudgingly, a tone of annoyance and exhaustion lacing her words.

“You mean Bernie Wolfe, that new one from Keller? Aka the leggy blonde you’ve had a crush on ever since she started working here? That Bernie? Oh Serena…” Serena barely has time to protest as she sees the mischief in Fleur’s eyes when she glances up at her. Pointing a finger at her in an attempt to warn her and scare her of, Serena grumbles.

“I do not have a crush on her at all. She’s a woman, Fleur, for god’s sake.” She can’t even convince herself with those words and clearly Fleur doesn’t believe her either as she laughs heartily. The woman sneaks up behind Serena then, puts her hands on her shoulders and lowers her face down so her mouth is near the brunette’s ear.

“Darling, you have such a crush on her. A major crush if you will, pun intended. And believe me I’ve seen the way she looks at you too. Now do the both of you a favour and ask her out, you won’t regret it.” Her hands squeeze Serena’s shoulders in encouragement and she presses a quick kiss against her cheek before she goes back to the door again. “Maybe you can be the gift, she’ll be happy to unwrap you, I promise!” With a cheeky chuckle she’s off again, back onto the ward and Serena is left stunned, her mouth slightly agape as she lets Fleur’s words sink in.

***

That weekend comes way sooner than Serena would want it to. Her nerves are on edge all day and she feels jittery as she drives to Albie’s where the party is hosted. She can’t help but regret going along with Fleur’s idea, hates that it’s too late now to back out. As she parks her car in the parking lot, probably to be picked up tomorrow once she’s sobered up after a night of drinking and celebrating, she tries her best to stride into Albie’s confidently.

Her confidence only lasts so long. As soon as she reaches the bar in Albie’s, she’s met by the sight of a halo of golden curls and the skinniest jeans she can imagine. Bernie. They smile at each other, friendly but not exactly familiar yet, making Serena’s insides twist and flutter with butterflies. Fleur may be onto something, she has to acknowledge. She clears her throat, extends a hand as a kind gesture to shake Bernie’s hand. Oh what a mistake, she immediately realises. The warm, tingly feeling that spreads from her fingers down to her toes as their hands touch is enough to make her breathless for a second.

Bernie blushes profusely, their handshake lasting longer than strictly appropriate. They’re brought back to reality when Fletch calls everyone around for the gift exchange. As there are quite a lot of them, it takes a while until they get around to Serena’s turn. She laughs nervously as Fletch points at her to reveal who she had to buy a gift for. With trembling hands she retrieves a small, colourfully wrapped parcel from her handbag and hands it to Bernie with a shy smile. A soft ‘merry Christmas’ is whispered between them before Serena sits down again, anxiously awaiting the opening of her gift.

Bernie undoes the neat bow on top, pulls at the wrapping paper and reveals… She hesitates, seems surprised and confused for a minute before she triumphantly grins and announces what she got.

“Socks! I love them, they’re really nice, thank you.” She quickly pushes them back into the wrapping paper, makes sure no one notices the little note that says “will you have dinner with me?”.

Serena’s legs are still trembling slightly, as she waits for the crowd to move their focus to the next person to get a gift. As soon as they do, Bernie makes eye contact with her again, smiles that beautiful grin and mouths a soft “yes” at Serena. A huge sigh of relief leaves her lips then, the corners of her mouth turning upwards. Bernie looks away again quickly, her cheeks still tinged pink, her fringe hiding her dark eyes.

It’s not until later that they bump into each other again, literally, as they both move forward towards the bar together. Serena can’t help but smile at Bernie as the blonde lets her go first. She stiffens immediately though, when she feels a warm body pressed closely behind her and feels Bernie’s breath warming her neck.

“So when are we going to dinner, Campbell?” The blonde asks, her smooth demeanour almost hiding the tremble in her voice. Serena laughs then, a full and rich sound spilling out, as she turns around and beams at the woman in front of her.

“What about next week, right before New Year’s?”

“Go out with a bang hey?” Bernie jokes. Serena’s eyebrow rises flirtatiously and it’s only then that Bernie realises what she said, all confidence leaving her for a second.

“I didn’t mean… I just… Sorry, yes next week would be great.”

They relax then, order their drinks and go back to their colleagues, splitting up to talk to different people and they don’t see each other much again for the rest of the night except for the longing gazes they keep throwing each other’s way. However, they’re both giddy for the rest of the night, already looking forward to their date.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Bernie and Serena's date at an Italian restaurant. They make it to the restaurant in the pouring rain but will romance ensue?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka the tropiest tropes here, rain + romance + two idiots falling for each other. I hope you enjoy this little chapter and I can't wait to write more for this fandom in 2020. Happy new year everyone, let me know what you think!

The rain is pouring as the taxi makes its way downtown, driving Bernie to the Italian restaurant she had suggested for her date with Serena. Bernie fusses and fidgets, sighs deeply and tries to control her breathing, while the cab nears the restaurant. She wonders if Serena will be there already, what she’ll look like, what she’ll be wearing. She can’t recall being this nervous before any other date, not that she’s had many. It was never like this with Marcus and Alex and her never had a chance to properly date, leaving her with not much experience to draw from.

She recognises the street there on, realises the restaurant is just around the corner and she runs her fingers through her hair, a nervous attempt to make the unruly locks look at least a little kempt. The cab comes to a halt and once she has paid, Bernie pulls her coat up around her ears, ducks her head to catch as little rain as possible and runs inside. A nice gentleman immediately takes her coat, hangs it up for her. She looks around then, properly, and notices a glimpse of brown hair and sparkling eyes in the back of the restaurant, tucked away in a little corner that somehow seems more cosy and candle lit than the rest of the place. The waiter accompanies her to their table and Bernie is met by Serena’s bright smile as she settles into her seat.

A soft hey is exchanged, the awkwardness of this new situation hitting them both square in the face. Now what? Neither of them had thought about what comes beyond this point and now here they are. Serena clears her throat, looks away for a second and then smiles again, with a question on her lips.

“So how are you finding it up on Keller?” Her words are accompanied by a cheeky grin, since it’s a public secret that Bernie’s talents lie somewhere way beyond Keller and its predictability. It seems to be the right thing to say though, because it earns her a shy smile and Bernie starts to open up about her job, her life in Holby and after a little bit of prodding even about how she got there. They hardly pay attention to the waiter taking their orders, pasta for both of them and a bottle of Shiraz to share, too engulfed in chatting to each other now that they get the chance. Serena knew they had a click, had noticed it in theatre the odd time that they got to work together but now, here, like this, she realises just how much talking to Bernie feels like talking to an old friend.

Time passes and before they know it they are done with their main dishes and are handed a dessert menu. They look at each other for a second, before Serena’s eyes glide over the suggested desserts and Bernie sees her eyes glittering once again. She’s caught off guard by the longing settling in her gut, the want to stare at the woman in front of her. Of course Serena is good looking, that is no secret, but Bernie can’t help but fix her eyes on the woman’s beautiful dark eyes, the creases around her mouth as she smiles, the soft skin of her neck so perfectly on display in the dress she chose to wear.

Serena can practically feel Bernie’s gaze burning into her, tries her hardest not to look up to meet the blonde’s eyes and stare right back. She noticed how much effort Bernie had put into her look today, with the slightly tamed hair, the soft rosy blush on her cheeks and the mascara bringing out her eyes. And was that a tinted lip gloss or were her lips always so pink and shiny and soft looking. Inviting almost.

As the waiter appears again they both give him their orders quickly, tiramisu for Serena, gelato for Bernie. Still they pick up right where their conversation left off, talking about their kids, the hardships of motherhood and the joys of it as well. Serena can’t help reaching out to touch Bernie’s hand when she tells her about all the missed birthday and holidays while she was away with the army. She slowly traces the barely there veins on the back of the blonde’s hand, a calming gesture meant to soothe. Normally, Bernie reasons, she would pull back now and not let someone randomly touch her like this. However with Serena it somehow feels okay to let her in, to let her have this intimate gesture.

They chat and chat all through their dessert, Bernie only getting mildly distracted by the soft moan Serena lets out at the first bite of tiramisu. She stops her brain before it can think of hearing that sound in other settings, doesn’t allow her traitorous mind to go down that alley. Instead she tries her best to focus on the cold of the gelato bursting on her tongue, the tingling feeling it leaves behind and the tangy taste it coats her mouth with. They’re still talking when the waiter hands them their bill, tells them that the restaurant will closely shortly.

With guilty smiles on their faces they pay the bill and go out into the night, while it hasn’t stopped raining. They decide to order a cab and share it since they don’t live that far apart anyway and Bernie is happy to find that Serena has brought an umbrella for them to stand under while they wait. However the umbrella is just a pocket sized one, barely fit for two people, forcing them to stand pressed together in order to hide from the rain at least a little bit. This close together, Bernie can hear the slight chattering of Serena’s teeth, can feel the gentle trembling of her entire body.

“Do you want my coat? Your freezing, Serena,” she says softly, concern written all over her face. Serena laughs then, turns towards Bernie and they’re suddenly so close Bernie swears she can feel Serena’s breath hit her lips.

“You’re such a gentleman, well, gentlewoman. Wouldn’t have thought so from such a big macho army medic.” She winks and Bernie feels her knees wobble, her breath coming in a bit short and ragged. They’re staring at each other, their faces still so close and yet too far apart until suddenly a loud honk breaks the tension between them as the taxi signals its arrival. They hurry to get in, both getting a little wet in the process and running their hands through their damp hairs once they’re seated.

The ride home is spent in silence, as if the sudden tension between them made them both too shy to speak now. Bernie wonders what would’ve happened if the taxi hadn’t arrived right then, if they’d been left there a little longer, staring into each other’s eyes like that. She glances at Serena, who is looking out the window wistfully. She keeps her eyes on the brunette for a while, thinks she doesn’t notice, until she feels a gentle push against her fingertips and then slender fingers slotting against her own on the middle seat between them. Bernie smiles and looks down at her lap then up and out of the window, keeping her hand right where it is, pressed against Serena’s. They stay like that for the rest of the ride home.

Once they reach Bernie’s flat, they’re once again torn apart. Bernie whispers a quick bye, tells Serena how lovely tonight has been and then she’s out of the cab. Serena quickly tells the driver to wait a minute, gets out too as fast as she can to catch up with Bernie.

“Wait!” she yells, her hair getting wetter and wetter now that she hasn’t got her umbrella with her. Bernie turns around, her hair plastered to her face already and her lips still pink and inviting. Serena lunges forward then, can’t stop herself as she presses her lips against Bernie’s and kisses her fiercely. She pulls back after a second, scared that she’s overstepped the mark but Bernie pulls her close again and kisses her back, deepening the kiss until they’re both humming softly. They laugh as they separate, run the last couple of metres to the sheltered bit outside Bernie’s flat building.

“I really liked tonight and I just, I wanted you to know how much,” Serena mumbles, shy now that they’re face to face like this. Bernie plants another kiss on her lips, hugs her tight and leans her forehead against Serena’s.

“I liked it too. I’d uhm, well I’d ask you to come in with me but I, I think we should take this slow. Serena I don’t wanna mess this up. I really like you.” Bernie’s words put a smile on Serena’s face, her eyes watering as she kisses those pink lips again.

The taxi honks again, signalling that it’s about time for Serena to get back in and with one last peck they separate, knowing that they’ll be seeing each other again soon. Serena beams as she gets back in the cab, is positively glowing by the time she arrives home and gets in to bed. Right before she turns the lights off to go to sleep, she sends a quick text to Fleur, thanking her for the great tip. 

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for the next chapter of this aka the date coming later this week.


End file.
